How Much Faith Should Jets Have in Young Core?

The New York Jets have been here before. Over the last 15 years, the organization has tried several different rebuilds to get the team back in playoff contention.

There was the return of Darrelle Revis in 2015 that kickstarted an impressive season with Ryan Fitzpatrick leading the charge. But that excitement only lasted for one year, and left New York reeling with a coaching change.

Sam Darnold was supposed to usher in a new age for the Jets in 2018. But he was only given three seasons to do so and failed to become the Super Bowl winning quarterback he turned into in Seattle.

Two years later, the Jets' core of three first-round picks (and two rookie of the year award winners) was supposed to be the best collection of talent the team had. Adding a Hall-of-Fame quarterback with that group was thought to be the finishing touch.

We all know how that ended, though.

Armed with a fresh collection of young talent, including another three first-round picks from the 2026 draft, the current Jets are hoping for their new young core to put an end to the failed attempts at competency.

Should fans even have faith in their current core, though?

The pros to believing in Jets

Eventually the team has to get it right....right? The Buffalo Bills went 17 years without a playoff berth but it still came in an end in 2017. The Cleveland Browns saw their playoff drought end after 16 years as well in 2018.

New York could very well be next.

There's reason to have faith in the Jets, though. New York general manager Darren Mougey has looked the part of a smart and competent executive. He has given the coaching staff plenty of talent on the roster to work with. In doing so, he's also put the team in a strong cap situation with quality draft picks as well.

New York's outlook has drastically changed just simply due to the work of Mougey.

But there are other reasons for hope as well. A core focused on current quality starters like wide receiver Garrett Wilson, right tackle Armand Membou, and running back Breece Hall leave the Jets with intriguing offensive talent.

On defense, second-overall pick David Bailey is looking to make an immediate impact with other young players on the roster like defensive tackle Jowon Briggs. A true balance of young stars and veterans on the defensive side of the ball means Gang Green's unit is expecting major improvements.

Of course, that's expected across the board. With a young group of players, and a quality front office to work with them, there's finally reason for faith at this point for Jets fans.

Very real concerns

Just because there is reason for optimism doesn't mean fans should go into the year without any concerns. There's plenty at the top of the list at this point.

At the top of the list: the coaching staff. Head coach Aaron Glenn has reshaped his staff below him. The reason? His first staff hired last year failed to show even the slightest example of competence.

Now it's all up to Glenn. He has a solid quarterback in Geno Smith, plenty of weapons to work with on offense, and a defense that better fits his "multiple" scheme that he is pushing for. He must be able to learn from his mistakes and win at a level the team hasn't seen in years.

It simply can't get worse for Jets fans. But if history has taught anything, simply waiting for winning to happen never actually does. Gang Green has plenty of pieces to instill faith from the fanbase.

The next step is rewarding that faith: from the coaching staff on down.

Add us as a preferred source on Google